Cold
by Angel1876
Summary: When her normal caretakers are busy, Namine goes down to the lab. It wouldn't bother her so much, if only it wasn't so cold down there.


Namine was never one for the cold.

That wasn't to say she was too fond of heat, either. In fact, the thin dresses she'd taken to wearing were because of how hot Castle Oblivion tended to be. Marluxia's doing, most of the flowers he liked to grow thrived in only the warmest of weather. On the best of days she'd long for even the tiniest of breezes to come and cool the fabric that clung to her skin from sweating so much.

However, it was a discomfort she could manage. She'd been in the heat so often since being brought to the castle that she was more or less used to it.

The cold, on the other hand, she very rarely felt. The gardener was her main caretaker, a possessive man who very rarely let her out of his sight. It was frightening sometimes, how angry he'd get whenever she dared wander even into the next room without permission. When it wasn't him, it was Larxene. While she wasn't as overly protective as Marluxia was, she had a mean streak in her that, on more than one occasion, had made the child fear for her life.

If neither of them were available, then it was Axel, who was happy to let her do whatever she wanted so long as she didn't drift out of earshot.

There were times, however, when all three of them would be called away, ordered from the castle to do missions that none thought her important enough to know about. Not that she really pressed the point, if it weren't for these people she'd still be wandering around in the lonely world she'd been found in, half starved and no one for company.

On such days as those, the responsibility would fall to the scientist. Unlike Axel or Larxene, he was not willing to stay in Marluxia's part of the castle while he watched over her. Instead, he would take her down into his labs, a dark and quiet place that smelled almost disgustingly of clean. Considering the Nobodies element, it was also the coldest place, frost seeming to seep from him until a thin layer of ice coated every available surface. The fact that she only had dresses to wear didn't help matters, each visit found her curled into a ball, shivering against whatever corner he'd decided to place her in.

Whenever she felt such distress, he seemingly didn't notice, or didn't care. From the time she came in to the time she left, he barely paid her a second glance. His focus was always on the test tubes and bubbling bottles that covered every inch of shelf space the room offered. It was only when she tried to move or talk that he addressed her, and it was only to tell her to stay put and keep quiet. Couldn't she see he was doing science?

It was during one of these days, the first time in several months that she'd been made to stay in his lab, she found a strange buzz in the back of her head. She could just barely feel it under the tremors that flooded through her, the rattle of her teeth as they clacked together. Though, it didn't remain a simple tingling sensation for long, the prickle soon deepened into a pressure, something like a headache but more uncomfortable than outwardly painful.

As time went on, she became aware of other things besides the biting cold. An itch in her throat, a thin coating of sweat that, given the icy atmosphere, really shouldn't have been there. She looked up at the man as he paced the room, for a moment thinking she really should say something. She quickly thought better of it, though, as she watched him pour a vial of brightly colored liquid into a beaker which held a nearly black substance. He would only get angry if she said anything, she should probably just wait for Marluxia to come back. The thought made her shiver harder, images of the humid air that constantly surrounded the man only reminded her of just how cold it really was.

She closed her eyes and tried to ignore it, but as the seconds ticked by, everything began to feel worse. The dull pounding in her head spread out to the rest of her body, the already strained muscles began to weaken and hurt. What was once a scratchy sensation in her throat became an open wound, one that tore at her each time she swallowed. The room itself began to distort, tilting this way and that, though she tried to ground herself by pressing her back into the wall.

Somewhere between a sickening gurgle that came to life in her stomach and a sudden difficulty in breathing, Namine realized what must have been happening. She hadn't seen it for herself, but what else could it be? She was fading.

Her arms tightened around her chest as she tried to hold herself together, her eyes closed because she didn't want to see her own body fall apart. She called out to the only other person in the room, her voice very small even to her own ears. "V-Vexen?"

"What is it, girl?" he answered with a dismissive tone, one which only sent a sharp stab through her chest where the heart was said to be, "I'm on the verge of something here."

"H...help me...help me, please!" she didn't want to fade, she didn't want to go into nothingness.

There was a moment of silence, broken only by her own frantic sobs that were dry only because her eye lids were clenched so hard together that the gathering liquid couldn't fall. She gasped desperately between whimpers, her throat tightened to the point breathing was almost impossible.

There came the soft creak of a floorboard, a bare and icy hand rested against her forehead. She gave an involuntary whine, the cold that seeped off of him like body heat only stole more of her own away. When he tried to pull back, she reached for him, her fingers catching his wrist and clinging tightly. "P-pl...ease...d-don't..."

"Calm yourself, it's only a fever." he pulled against her grip, "I'll-"

"N-no, p-please!" blindly, she pushed herself from the wall and instead curled her fists into his coat, fighting to get herself onto his lap, "I-I don't...d-dont...want...t-to fade alone...V-Vexen...please..."

"Fade?" he stopped trying to get away, giving her the chance to latch onto him. She pressed her face against his chest, pushing out the trapped tears and wetting his coat. A gloved hand lay itself against her back, followed by the bare one at the top of her head. For a moment she feared he might pull her from him by her hair, but he made no other movements. "You're not fading."

"T-th-then...?" her voice caught, her lungs fighting to expand, to take in air that was far too thin

"You have a fever. Likely from a cold. You shouldn't dress so lightly when you're coming down here. Girl, calm down. Breath."

"C-can't!"

"Listen to me, you're hyperventilating." the hand at her head moved to brush under her hair, fingertips trailing softly along her scalp, "Namine, take deep, slow breaths. Panic isn't going to make you feel any better."

She tried to do as he asked, but the harsh gasps came despite her efforts to draw them out. He shifted under her and, ignoring her protests, pushed her away. Terrified of the darkness behind her own eyelids, she opened them, wincing as even the dim light of the lab stabbed at her head. She caught a flash of a grey shirt before the thick leather coat was draped around her shoulders.

Vexen pulled the zipper up, the coat even colder than the air from being in such close contact with him. Panting, she shivered harder, the motion becoming increasingly painful. Once she was sufficiently wrapped up, he gathered her into his arms again, "Calm, Namine. You aren't going to fade today." again, he tangled a hand into her hair, while the other busied itself with rubbing circles into her back through her clothes. Slowly, her own body heat warmed the inside of the coat, easing the chill, if only slightly. The tightness in her throat also relented, though it was still horribly painful. When he was sure she wasn't going to pass out from too much oxygen, he stood to grab something on a nearby shelf. A vial of clear liquid, which he opened and held to her mouth, "I need you to drink this."

Normally she would have hesitated in taking anything from the lab without knowing exactly what it was, but she didn't feel up to fighting him on the matter. The fluid smelled faintly of fruit, but it tasted bitter, and it burned. She coughed at the sensation, shuddering at the dizzying flare it caused, but managed to get it all down. "Good girl." he said as he pat her on the head. The glove was back on his hand, though she couldn't remember seeing him put it on. She blinked up at him, tears still wet on her face. "You're okay." the reassurance came with a smile and that strange thing he did with his eyes.

"T...thank you." she pulled the coat tighter around her, "You aren't...mad at me?"

"No. We need to get you upstaires though." giving her no room to argure, his arms slipped around her back and under her legs. Despite his age, he managed to lift her seemingly effortlessly. She yelped and held onto him as the room tilted uncomfortably around them. Her stomach twisted, bringing out a low groan as she tried to keep it's contents where they were.

The nausea faded as he carried her up, out from the frosty labs and into the wet heat of the castle. As he walked, she found the edges of her vision burring, her eyes slipping shut. Her mind withdrew, the world around her darkening and her skin becoming numb to his touch. She was almost under the waters surface of sleep when his hold shifted and she was placed on something soft and familiar.

She was in the flower bed Marluxia made for her, colorful petals and lush green stems supporting her weight.

"A-are you going to leave me here?" her voice was raspy, but her throat didn't quite hurt that much at the moment, and what sensitivity remained was buried and far away. What had he given her?

"No."

"But..." already she could feel the normally humid temperature cooling simply from his presence, if he stayed much longer it was going to be very harmful to the plants.

"I'll deal with Number Eleven, you get some rest. I'll make sure you're still here when you wake up." the flowers shifted slightly as he lay next to her, on his back. After a moment of hesitation, she crawled up to his side, her head resting uncertainly at his shoulder. Thankfully, the coat protected her from most of the iciness that came from him. She thought for a moment that he was going to push her away, but instead an arm was wrapped almost protectively around her. "Just get some sleep."

Namine didn't need to be asked twice. Without movement to anchor her to reality, she fell into a deep and dreamless slumber.


End file.
